Chinese Taipei
Chinese Tapei is the official name used for the sports teams of the Republic of China or Taiwan. Taipei is the capital, and New Taipei is the largest city. It is made up of the island of Taiwan and some other islands. Overview National Teams *Chinese Taipei National Team *Chinese Taipei Junior National Team Domestic Teams See Category:Ice hockey teams in Taiwan Arenas See Category:Arenas in Taiwan Competitions History of hockey in Taiwan Hockey has been played in Taiwan dating back at least to the mid-1970s. The Chinese Taipei Skating Association was founded in 1980, and three years later, on September 1, 1983, the country joined the International Ice Hockey Federation.IIHF.com - Chinese Taipei The national championship was first contested in 1982. During the 1980s, hockey was mainly concentrated in the capital of Taipei. At its peak there there were four teams: Polar Bears, Snowman, Eskimo (in Taipei) and Twin Star (based in Kaohsiung). The development of ice hockey in Taiwan was in large part thanks to the surge of popularity in inline hockey during the 1990s. In 1996, the skating federation made a priority of developing and popularizing inline hockey, and numerous tournaments were arranged (e.g. Chung-Cheng Cup, the Taiwan Provincial Cup and the the Taipei Chung-Cheng Cup). In 2000, over 50 teams participated in the national inline Zhuay-Feng Cup, hosted by the Taipei municipal government, the skating federation and the ice hockey committee of the federation. In late 2003, a Chinese Taipei ice hockey league was started with four teams. However, the league quickly folded as two teams didn't pay their fees for ice time. In 2004, the Chinese Taipei Ice Hockey League, which is run by the Chinese Taipei Ice Hockey Federation, was founded at the initiative of Canadian expat Geoff Le Cren. The league was initially divided into two divisions: The Open Division for Taiwanese players, and the International Division for expatriates. The International Division put together an all-star team, the Taiwan Typhoon, which played in tournaments around Asia. Nowadays the CIHL features one four-team division. In the late 1990s, there was only one, small ice rink in Chinese Taipei. Located in Taichung, the "A-rink" later closed down. Taipei Arena opened in December 2005 and was the first Olympic-sized arena in Taiwain, with a capacity of 800 spectators. The facility hosted the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III tournament. The men's national team made its international debut at the 1987 World Championship D Pool held in Perth, Australia. Due to the political status of the country and related issues with China, the games did not count towards the final ranking of the tournament. Taiwan lost to Australia 31-3, South Korea 24-0, and New Zealand 12-1. Their best result was a 2-2 tie against Hong Kong. The national team played two friendly games in 2005, beating Thailand 5-3 and losing to Hong Kong 6-2. Taipei has played in the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia annually since 2008, winning it five times (2008, 2010, 2013-2015). They participated in the Top division at the 2011 Asian Winter Games hockey tournament, finishing in fifth and last place. The junior national team first participated in the IIHF World U20 Championships in 2010, playing in Division III. The U18 national team participated in the IIHF Asian Oceanic U18 Championships from 2000-2002, and has taken part in the IIHF World U18 Championships since 2008. References Category:Countries